29 September 2011

Stora Enso make move into bioplastics

One of the world's largest paper and board manufacturers announce plans to focus on renewable, compostable and recyclable food packaging

Biomass Processing Facilities MapScandinavian paper industry giants Stora Enso will be presenting their new range of packaging materials at “Packaging Innovations London 2011” on the 6th and 7th of October. This will include their new Cupforma and Primeforma ranges which use a bioplastic coating.

The company says that all their products can be recycled together with other fibre-based packages, assuming the proper infrastructure is in place. Bioplastic-coated boards are also compostable and can be composted together with food waste.

The bioplastic coating used by Stora Enso is mainly made from renewable resources, but also uses some non-renewable resources to optimise the functionality of the product. Together with board, the percentage of renewable raw materials in Cupforma Natura Bio, for example, is 98 per cent.

Cupforma Natura Bio is a sustainable drinking cup material. It is lighter than the original Cupforma design but displays exactly the same properties, so you will get more cups with less material, say the company.

Stora Enso Primeforma is a new paperboard grade designed to replace traditional plastic food packaging, as Marcus Weise, Product Manager at Stora Enso Food Service Board, explains, “A challenge for food packers wanting to switch to paperboard has been the fact that their existing packaging lines were originally designed for plastic packages. Our new Primeforma board solves the problem as it can be thermoformed on existing packaging lines”.